The infinite scope of Bovet owner Pascal Raffy’s imagination takes its latest form in the new celestial timepiece Récital 22 Grand Récital tourbillon.

It forms the third chapter in the poetic watchmaking narrative begun by Pascal Raffy and the maison’s artisans two years ago. In 2016, Bovet surprised collectors with the unveiling of the Récital 18 Shooting Star tourbillon, which revolutionised watchmaking design by combining its movement with a registered design asymmetrical case. A year later, Bovet reprised this incredible celestial timepiece with the Récital 20 Astérium, which borrowed the Récital 18’s innovative case, original architecture, and intuitive display of astronomical indications.

Together, they now invite collectors to observe the three heavenly bodies that set the pace of our lives: the Sun, Earth, and Moon.

The grand astronomical theatre Récital 22 Grand Récital tourbillon has been presented by Bovet in a Tellerium-Orrery, with the Sun represented by the flying tourbillon, whose carriage bridge evokes fiery rays. The striking hemispherical earth rotates on its own axis and shows the hours on a natural 24-hour cycle. Finally, a spherical moon orbits the earth according to the exact length of its synodic period, i.e., 29.53 days.

To accentuate the splendor of the sun, the tourbillon carriage has been raised above the surface of the movement. Its original patented construction is characterised by its central attachment, endowing the piece with exemplary chronometry, while achieving a peerless level of transparency.

Meanwhile, the five arms of the titanium carriage bridge surround the regulating organ. This three-dimensional representation of the Sun showcases the finish of the bridge’s five arms, rounded by hand, which subtly frame the timepiece’s celestial decoration. By rotating once every 60 seconds, the tourbillon indicates the seconds by a hand affixed directly to the carriage wheel and travels over a scaled 20-second sector.

The Earth is represented by a hemisphere on the Récital 22, the surface of which is adorned with an engraved and hand-painted map, on which the oceans, mountains, deserts, and forests are executed in painstaking detail. The difficulty of working on a hemispherical surface is compounded by the use of a technique unveiled by Bovet in 2017, in which the artisan incorporates luminescent substances into the miniature painting. In this way, the Earth becomes a radiant highlight in the dark, as the Earth itself appears in the heavens above. The artisan’s work continues with extreme delicacy, applying several successive layers of transparent lacquer to the globe’s surface before it is polished.

The scale of the artisanal and artistic craftsmanship present on these hemispheres is reason enough to consider each of the 60 timepieces in this limited edition a unique piece. Yet Pascal Raffy wanted to offer collectors even more. He therefore wanted Bovet to allow collectors to choose the orientation of the painted world map so that the collector’s chosen location would be positioned on the earth-sun axis when the timepiece displays midday. This customisation option means that each movement and timepiece is assembled once the collector's special requests have been received.

The Moon is represented by a sphere that makes a complete orbit once every 29.53 days exactly, which corresponds to the synodic period of our natural satellite.

To bring further harmony to this celestial spectacle, the retrograde minute and power reserve indications are displayed on hemispherical sectors curved to mirror the globe. Sapphire glasses situated in their centers magnify the mechanisms underneath, each seemingly transcending the spatial confines of the case.

Specially designed and developed for the Grand Récital, the perpetual calendar is brimming with innovative features, including the original addition of a patented, double-sided date disk display.

Pascal Raffy’s vision of the fundamental values of fine watchmaking involves masterful techniques and timekeeping, decorative arts, and customisation in harmony with traditional manufacturing procedures. Taken to new heights by the Maison, these values are harmoniously combined to give collectors the noblest and most poetic expression of time. These values are evidenced throughout the celestial trilogy introduced by BOVET, culminating in the new limited edition Récital 22 Grand Récital.